


Sickeningly Sweet and Protective

by rainbowtourmaline



Category: Free!
Genre: Asexuality, Awkwardness, Confessions, Flirting, Flower Language, Flower meanings, Flowers, Fluff, Gardens & Gardening, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Yamazaki Sousuke, Relationship Study, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Tea, adorkable Sousuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 18:58:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7450426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowtourmaline/pseuds/rainbowtourmaline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto is worried Sousuke is gonna break his grandmother’s fine china and Sousuke frets over his best friend’s new romantic relationship. </p><p>Takes place a year after the Free! Eternal Summer season finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sickeningly Sweet and Protective

“Rin, stop tickling me!” Sousuke frowned as he heard the distant sound of Haru’s laughter, which sounded surprisingly sweet and angelic to his ears.

Damn that water demon taking an angelic form to seduce- sorry, romance his best friend Rin!

“Hmmmmmmm.” Sousuke growled, barely touching the green tea Makoto especially prepared for his visit.

“I can’t help it Haru, you’re so cute and ticklish!” Rin could be heard cooing and going in for another tickling session, much to Haru’s joy and Sousuke’s displeasure.

  
Curse Rin’s romantic nature and his inability to not flirt in public!

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.” In a pathetic attempt to distract himself from the lovey dovey couple in the background, Sousuke filled his teacup with about four to five spoons sugar and started stirring so hard that he splashed tea onto Makoto without even realising!

“I love you Rin.” Haruka’s declaration could be heard even though he was using his softest, sweetest tone of voice.

“I love you too, my shining.” Sousuke’s ears burned a fiery red colour as he could hear Rin peck Haru on the cheek and wrap his long, muscular arms around the other boy.

“My joy.” Haru responded, probably nuzzling into Rin’s neck.

It made Sousuke sick.

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!” Sousuke started stirring faster and faster until there was no sugary green tea left and Makoto was finally at his wit’s end!

“STOP!” Makoto snatched the cup from Sousuke’s clutches and held it protectively. “Voice your disapproval all you want, but leave my grandmother’s antique tea set out of this!”

Souske’s blush went from his ears all the way down to his neck.

“Uh, sorry Makoto!” he rushed to find a handkerchief to clean up all the mess he made. “You were nice enough to invite me to your back garden for tea and here I am acting like a jackass!”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Makoto chuckled and put Sousuke’s teacup back on the table, filing up another cup of green tea for him. “Although I will admit you do have a bad habit of taking your frustration out on the pool and the fine china.”

“You know me so well.” Sousuke sat back down and returned to his seat as he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Makoto asked innocently, his green eyes shining with compassion and good will.

“Well…” Sousuke hesitated. He didn’t like burdening other people with his problems and he had already caused enough trouble for everyone in his life, but his therapist said that being too secretive was sometimes another way of creating problems for others even if it was done with good intentions. Confiding in Makoto, the angel of the Iwatobi Swim Club, couldn’t hurt. Right? “Please don’t judge me for saying this…”

“I won’t.” Makoto's smile shined so brightly it could beat the sun in a bedazzling contest.

“But I hate how their relationship is going so well.”

Makoto followed Sousuke’s pointed index finger to Haru and Rin, who were sitting in Makoto’s garden swing chair among the purple lilac, sakura cherry blossoms and red camellia flowers Makoto’s grandmother had planted. Makoto found the flowers really appropriate for the couple as they all stood for “the first emotions of love”, “a time of renewal” and “romantic love” respectively. Rin was still clinging to Haru, while Haru was running his hands through Rin’s hair in fascination of the red locks that had been freed from its hair band.

It made Makoto think of one of those old paintings of a pair of young lovers in flowery field.

“Don’t make that dopey grin at them like they’re the most perfect couple in the world!” Sousuke cried.

“Why not?” Makoto said, cupping his chin and sighing wistfully at Rin and Haru. He sure wished he had something like that.

“Because they’re so sickeningly sweet in love and it makes me wanna barf!” Sousuke angrily declared while frantically gesturing at the oblivious couple. “How am I supposed to disapprove of their relationship if all they do is look at each other with love filled eyes?”

“Sousuke…” Makoto snickered.

“I mean I could protest the relationship on the basis of protecting Rin’s honour and accuse Haru of sexually seducing Rin in Australia, but they’re asexual for God’s sake.” Sousuke sighed and crossed his arms. “They don’t give me a lot of justification to protest the relationship. It’s like they’re completely different to the people they used to be ever since they discovered their sexuality.”

Makoto reached out and touched Sousuke’s hand.

“Asexual relationships aren’t perfect, Sousuke. The absence of sex doesn’t mean the absence of problems in a relationship.” Makoto smiled at the way Sousuke’s teal eye’s reflected back at him like a koi pond in the sunlight. “But you don’t have to worry about Haru hurting Rin. Haru was prepared to give up swimming because he thought he had made Rin unhappy and didn’t know how to go about repairing their relationship. But now Haru isn’t afraid to go after what he wants and fight to keep it.”

Sousuke’s eloquent mind could only think of one response –

Damn.

And not even a ‘damn I wish he wasn’t right’ kind of damn, a ‘damn he’s right and I can't even pretend to argue with him’ damn.

Sousuke was about to open his mouth to say something, but stopped and smirked. He had been beaten and he knew it.

“You’ve got a way with words Makoto.”

“Words aren’t the only thing I’m good at, Sousuke-kun.” It was Makoto’s turn to smirk as he flirtatiously stroked Sousuke’s hand and gave him the trusty old bedroom eyes for good measure. It reminded Sousuke of the way Makoto looked at him while he was hunting him down with a water gun at the school festival and it was the last thing Sousuke had been expecting at this seemingly innocent afternoon tea party.

“Makoto?!” he yelped as his blush from earlier had returned with a vengeance. He had a strange feeling that Makoto didn’t just invite him over for tea…

“Let’s just say Rin and Haru aren’t the only members of the LGBT community we know.” Makoto winked saucily and Sousuke didn’t hate the shiver it sent up his spine. Sousuke couldn’t say or do anything except be the whale shark that he was, with his mouth wide open and going ‘Uh…’ as he was honestly not used to someone as attractive as Makoto expressing romantic interest in him. He honestly thought he’d end up being an angry, muscly monk who swam morning, noon and night after he had won all his Olympic gold medals, but life was full of surprises. Good ones as well as bad ones, Sousuke was starting to believe.

“Get a room!” Haru’s mood ruining yell could be heard from across the garden.

“SAME TO YOU!” Sousuke yelled back and forgot about his embarrassment/lust, bristling at Haru when he stuck his tongue out and went back to nuzzling Rin without a care in the world.


End file.
